JP2995447B2 - Electrolytic ionic water generator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrolytic ionic water generator for producing acidic ionic water and alkaline ionic water from supplied tap water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of electrolytic ionic water generating apparatus, when a metal, for example, platinum-plated titanium is used as an electrode of an electrolytic cell, the surface is plated by using the generating apparatus for a long time. Platinum disappears, and the electrolytic efficiency deteriorates extremely. Therefore, there is a type in which the time during which the electrolytic voltage is applied to the electrode is counted, and when a predetermined count value is reached, this is notified.
However, as described above, the life of the electrode due to the loss of platinum in the electrode is not simply determined by the usage time, but varies greatly depending on, for example, the magnitude of the electrolytic current.

[0003]

As described above, judging the service life only by counting the use time increases the error, so that it is necessary to give a margin and to promptly notify the user. Therefore, even though the electrode is still in a usable state, the above-described notification is issued to prompt the user to replace the electrode. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrolytic ionized water generator capable of eliminating the above-mentioned disadvantages and accurately informing or displaying that the life of an electrode has expired.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrolytic ionic water generator comprising an electrolytic cell having a positive electrode and a negative electrode disposed via an ion exchange membrane. Supplying electrolytic water to the electrolytic cell and applying electrolytic voltage to the positive electrode and the negative electrode to generate acidic ionic water and alkaline ionic water from the supplied tap water. In the apparatus, when the electrolytic current flowing through the electrode of the electrolytic cell is less than a set value, the electrolytic ionic water generator configured to detect and display this, the electrolytic cell as described above Means for manually varying the voltage applied to the comparator, and means for switching the threshold of the comparator in conjunction with the variation, whereby the value set as described above is varied by the comparator. It is characterized in that no on.

[0005]

With the electrolytic ionic water generating apparatus configured as described above, when the electrolytic current flowing through the electrode of the electrolytic cell is less than a set value, this is detected and displayed (without sound or the like). .

[0006]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention.
Will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a water channel system and the electrical system of the electrolytic ion water generator, FIG 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the electrolytic ion water generator of FIG. In FIG. 2, 1 is an electrolytic ionized water generator, 2 is a power cord, 3
Is an alkaline ionized water outlet, 4 is an acidic ionized water outlet, 5 is an electrolysis level indicator, 6 is an electrolysis level setting key, 7 is an indicator that informs you that the filter has been replaced, and 8 is that the electrode life of the electrolytic cell has expired. And 9 is a cartridge lid. 1, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 denote the same components. 10 is an electrolytic cell, 11 is a positive electrode, 12 is a negative electrode, 13 is a tap water inlet, 14 is an ion exchange membrane, and 15 is a filter cartridge. The filter cartridge 15 contains activated carbon, hollow fibers, and the like.
It is detachable from the water generator 1. Reference numeral 16 denotes a flow sensor, 17 denotes a power supply circuit, and 18 denotes a relay. The relay 18 is for reversing the voltage applied to the electrodes 11 and 12. 19 is a control circuit, 20 is a comparator, and 21 is an analog switch. The analog switch 21 is for switching the threshold of the comparator 20. Reference numeral 22 denotes a current detection device including a resistor. These are connected electrically or by a water channel as shown.

In the electrolytic ionic water generating apparatus configured as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the water passed through the tap water inlet is
After free chlorine and the like are removed by the filter cartridge 15, it passes through the flow sensor 16. This flow sensor 1
6 generates a pulse corresponding to the amount of passing water as is well known, and is input to the control circuit 19 through a path a in FIG. Thereafter, the tap water is passed through the electrolytic cell 10, passes through the positive electrode 11 and the negative electrode 12 provided with the ion exchange membrane 14 therebetween, and is discharged from the alkali ion water outlet 3 and the acidic ion water outlet 4 respectively. You. On the other hand, when the number of pulses from the flow sensor 16 exceeds a predetermined number, this is detected by the control circuit 19,
The power supply circuit 17 is turned on via the path b in the figure. By this ON, an electrolytic voltage is applied to the electrodes 11 and 12 through the relay 18 which is normally OFF. The relay 18 is temporarily turned on when the electrolytic cell 10 is washed, and reverses the polarity of the voltage applied to the electrodes 11 and 12, and operates by the control line c in FIG. ing.

The power supply circuit 17 is controlled by the electrolytic level setting key 6 via the control circuit 19, whereby the voltage applied to the electrolytic cell 10 is controlled as described above. The analog switch 21 is also switched in conjunction with this, and the comparator 20
Is switched. The electrolytic current detecting device 22 composed of the above-described resistor is inserted on the negative side of the power supply circuit 17, and the voltage generated according to the current is input to the comparator 20. This comparator 2
The reference voltage switched by the analog switch 21 is input to another input of 0, so that the reference voltage changes in response to the switching of the electrolytic level. When the electrolysis level is high, the electrolysis current is large, and the voltage obtained from the current detection device 22 is also high. In this case, the threshold voltage is also increased. As a result, when the electrolysis level is high, the electrodes 11 and
Than threshold value for determining the lifetime of 12 is exhausted is set higher, thereby enabling more accurate life detection.

As described above, an output is obtained from the comparator 20 only when the electrolysis current detected by the current detection device 22 is lower than the minimum electrolysis current suitable for each electrolysis level. This output is supplied to an indicator lamp 8 that indicates that the life of the electrodes 11, 12 has expired. The control line of d in the figure is connected to the indicator light 8, and the indicator light 8 is controlled by the output of the comparator 20 on condition that the flow rate sensor 16 detects the passage of tap water. It is lit.

At the time of the above-mentioned cleaning, the control circuit 1
The relay 18 is turned on by a command from the control circuit 9 via a control line c, and the cleaning voltage applied to the electrodes 11 and 12 is controlled by a command from the control circuit 19 via a control line b. The reference voltage of the comparator 20 is also changed to a voltage corresponding to the predetermined voltage. Therefore, during this cleaning, the electrodes 11, 1
When the life of the battery 2 has expired, the indicator lamp 8 is turned on in the same manner as during electrolysis.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but includes various modifications and the like without departing from the gist thereof. Next, some other embodiments, modifications, and the like of the present invention will be described.
In the above embodiment, under the condition that tap water is supplied, when the electrolytic current flowing through the electrodes 11 and 12 of the electrolytic cell 10 is less than a set value, this is reported. The fact that tap water is being supplied to the ion water generator can be easily visually confirmed because water is flowing out from the alkali ion water outlet 3 and the acidic ion water outlet 4, so that the tap water is supplied. May be displayed when the electrolytic current flowing through the electrodes 11 and 12 of the electrolytic cell 10 is less than a set value. However, in this case, since the message is displayed even when the tap water is stopped, it is not preferable to give a notification accompanied by a sound or the like instead of the display.

In the above embodiment, the electrode 1 of the electrolytic cell 10
In order to accurately detect that the electrolysis current flowing through 1 and 12 is less than the set value, the comparator 20 and the analog switch 21 are used. In the case of a simple type, the comparator 20 and the like are used. Instead, the presence or absence of the electrolytic current may simply be detected. In the above embodiment, the resistance is used for detecting the electrolytic current. However, the resistance may be replaced with another element capable of detecting the current, such as a semiconductor element, a coil, or a wire.

In the above embodiment, the indicator lamp 8 is turned on when the life of the electrodes 11 and 12 has expired.
Alternatively, or in addition to sounding an alarm,
Stopping the operation of the electrolytic ionic water generator, such as stopping the supply of water to the electrolytic cell such as alkaline ionized water by stopping water supply to the electrolytic cell, etc., informs the user that the life has expired, that is, informs the user. You may make it. In the above embodiment, the indicator lamp 8 is used when the electrolytic current is below the set value, provided that water is supplied to the electrolytic cell 10.
However, for example, when the electrolytic current is less than a set value on condition that the water is supplied, this is detected, and even after the supply of the water is stopped, or the supply is stopped. The indicator lamp 8 may be turned on later.

[0014]

In general, in an electrolytic ionized water generator, if there is an abnormality in the water channel system, water leakage or the like occurs, or alkaline ionized water does not come out of the electrolytic cell, so that it can be found visually. However, even if the function of the electrolytic ionic water generating device is lost due to the electric system, such as when the platinum of the electrode of the electrolytic cell is lost, the user may not use the device and may use it as it is. As described above, according to the present invention, when the electrolytic current flowing through the electrodes 11 and 12 of the electrolytic cell 10 is less than a set value in the electrolytic ionized water generator, this is displayed.
It is possible to display an operation failure caused by an electric system including the end of the life of the electrodes 11 and 12 .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1, showing an embodiment of the present invention, is a schematic block diagram of a water channel system and an electric system of an electrolytic ionized water generator.

FIG. 2, showing one embodiment of the present invention, is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an electrolytic ionized water generator.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Electrolyzed Ion Water Generator 2 Power Cord 3 Alkaline Ion Water Outlet 4 Acid Ion Water Outlet 5 Electrolysis Level Indicator Light 6 Electrolysis Level Setting Key 7 Indicator Light to Inform Filter Replacement 8 Life of Electrolyte Electrode End 9 Indicator lid for cartridge 10 Electrolytic tank 11 Positive electrode 12 Negative electrode 13 Tap water inlet 14 Ion exchange membrane 15 Filter cartridge 16 Flow rate sensor 17 Power supply circuit 18 Relay 19 Control circuit 20 Comparator 21 Analog switch 22 Current detection device

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electrolytic cell having a positive electrode and a negative electrode disposed via an ion exchange membrane, wherein tap water is supplied to the electrolytic cell, and an electrolytic voltage is applied to the positive electrode and the negative electrode. When applied, in the electrolytic ionic water generating apparatus that generates acidic ionic water and alkaline ionic water from the supplied tap water, when an electrolytic current flowing through the electrode of the electrolytic cell is less than a set value, An electrolytic ionic water generator configured to detect and display the detected voltage, comprising: means for manually varying the voltage applied to the electrolytic cell as described above; Means for switching a fold, wherein the set value is varied by the comparator .